head casting. how many runs per month

[WaltZ]

is it possible to find how many 186 head 2.02 casting runs / dates could have been in November and December of 68 and January of 69.
curious; could they be multiple times per month
thanks in advance

[bertfam]

3927186 2.02 intake valve heads used the same casting number as the 1.94 intake valve heads, so the only difference was machining. Heads were cast all day long on 3 different shifts in multiple molds. Literally tens of thousands per week. No way to know how many were machined for 2.02 or 1.94 valves.

Ed

[bcmiller]

Correct. Can’t say with 100 percent certainty that there were castings with that number on every day, but certainly possible.

[bergy]

That's a pretty common part number, so there would have been lots of cast dates.  All small block heads were cast 4 in a mold on Spomatic molding lines at both Saginaw gray iron and Tonawanda foundry.  Big block heads were cast 2 in a mold at Tonawanda.  Each plant had one line pretty much dedicated to small block heads, although the pattern equipment could have been switched to another line if the need arose. The lines ran at 240 molds per hour at 100% uptime (generally - 80 % uptime was achieved in production).  The lines ran on a 2 shift basis, with shifts extended on overtime as demand dictated.  To my knowledge, only Central Foundry Division ran on 3 shifts (5 on - one off schedule on each molding line).  So, as far as the production of any part per shift goes, you can do the math.  We were pouring 2,500 tons of iron per day at Tonawanda back then & more at Saginaw gray iron.  Fun times!

[WaltZ]

WOW, interesting info... would never have guessed if I didn't ask.
Thank You!

[bertfam]

I asked Dave (Bergy) to chime in since he actually worked in the foundry at that time and could elaborate on what I had written. Thanks Dave! That's great information.

Ed

[Stingr69]

Tonawanda did not produce SHP small blocks (no 4 bolt mains) so maybe only the small valve heads were produced there?  Just a thought. 

[bertfam]

L48 engines were assembled at Tonawanda, so I would assume they cast the 3927186 heads and machined them for 1.94 valves.

Ed

[bcmiller]

That's a pretty common part number, so there would have been lots of cast dates.  All small block heads were cast 4 in a mold on Spomatic molding lines at both Saginaw gray iron and Tonawanda foundry.  Big block heads were cast 2 in a mold at Tonawanda.  Each plant had one line pretty much dedicated to small block heads, although the pattern equipment could have been switched to another line if the need arose. The lines ran at 240 molds per hour at 100% uptime (generally - 80 % uptime was achieved in production).  The lines ran on a 2 shift basis, with shifts extended on overtime as demand dictated.  To my knowledge, only Central Foundry Division ran on 3 shifts (5 on - one off schedule on each molding line).  So, as far as the production of any part per shift goes, you can do the math.  We were pouring 2,500 tons of iron per day at Tonawanda back then & more at Saginaw gray iron.  Fun times!

Thank you for sharing your experience! We do appreciate it!!